My Little White Mystery
by MidnightEden234
Summary: Ichigo Kurosaki is a young adult searching for his purpose in life. Shiro is, well, that's a secret. Ichigo finds him in an alleyway, broken, hurt and scared. Ichigo takes Shiro in, and as Shiro and Ichigo's bond grows, they start telling each other important secrets such as what Shiro is and what haunting memory Ichigo is so torn up about. HichiIchi Rated T for now...
1. Found

Ichigo yawned as yet another day came to an end. He had been walking for about an hour. It was a really annoying way to travel, but he liked the fresh air and didn't mind the exercise.

Anyways, Ichigo was a reporter. That meant four days of typing and one day of researching each week. He didn't mind his job, really, it's just... his boss could get a little demanding sometimes. That's why Ichigo usually worked at home.

In fact, that was where he was headed right now; home. He brought his work home this afternoon in order to touch it up and have it ready for tomorrow's deadline. His laptop was really heavy, especially after carrying it for three hours, but until he could afford a new one, this was what he was stuck with.

Just as Ichigo round the corner, he got a very peculiar feeling. Ichigo paused in his marching when, what only could be described as, an ice cold chill shot up his body. He slowly turned to his right and observed the dark alley way in a trace like state. He brushed his hair away from his eyes and entered the narrow lane with caution.

The darkness swallowed him. Ichigo was thankful for the dim light shining in from above otherwise he wouldn't have been able to see at all.

Taking another step, Ichigo nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a groan. Ichigo once again whipped around to his right and was forced into squinting to see the other person within the alley.

Ichigo could see the vague outline of something avocado in color beginning to stir. He watched, curiously, as the figure seemed to stretch its limbs, and he chuckled when he could hear a soft sneeze.

His chuckle echoed through the alley increasing its eeriness from none to a thousand. The figure yelped and the blanket rolled off revealing nothing more than a set of glowing gold eyes. Ichigo gasped and backed away, fear marking every area across his body.

But the eyes merely blinked before imitating Ichigo's exact expression. The figure jumped up and backed towards the corner created by the dumpster and the building.

Ichigo looked into the stranger's eyes and all he could see was fear. His natural instincts took over and the orangette reached out a gentile hand. The stranger's eyes remained fixed on the hand and the fear on his face grew with every second.

"It's okay."

The stranger jumped at Ichigo's voice but seemed more comfortable than before.

"You're safe now. It's okay."

The stranger slowly lifted his hand. Ichigo took a step forward and immediately the stranger dropped it.

Ichigo gave his best smile and brought his hand only slightly closer to the other's. He spoke with a gentle voice, "I promise. I won't hurt you."

The stranger blinked as if he didn't understand the language, but understood Ichigo's words. He lifted his hand in a slow, yet oddly graceful manner and Ichigo noticed that it shone a bright white while it was in the light. The albino let his hand hover in the air just a few centimetres away from Ichigo's fingers. Then he timidly touched Ichigo's fingertip, gradually connecting their hands more and more.

Ichigo's fingers were rough and rather thick, and seemed to be the exact opposite of the stranger's. The albino's fingers were thin, but moisturized and soft, a touch that Ichigo very much enjoyed.

Ichigo felt a sense of peace, one that normally came when you play with a younger child. He could see the curiosity clearly written across the stranger's face as their hands were slowly brought together. Then suddenly the stranger's eyes snapped up to meet Ichigo's and his grip turned almost deathly. Ichigo's first instinct was to escape and run, but he found his body unable to move when he looked into fear filled gold on black eyes.

The stranger jumped into Ichigo's arms and Ichigo caught him almost immediately. His hand came up and his fingers ran themselves through the stranger's hair. The albino relaxed, but only slightly, his eyes closing as he clung to Ichigo for dear life.

"It's all right," Ichigo found himself saying. "I'm here now, you don't need to be afraid."

The shaking slowed and the stranger's body became limp. He fainted and collapsed against Ichigo, much to the teenager's surprise. Ichigo caught the stranger and lifted him into his arms. Then, for the first time in twenty minutes, realised the albino was naked.

"He hasn't spoken a word."

Ichigo looked to the entrance of the alley where the outline of an old woman stood. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"He's been there for 'bout a week. Hasn't eaten any o' the food I bring. He just sits there, scared and hidden beneath the blanket."

Ichigo looked down to the albino's face. There was no fear, just peace as he slept in his arms.

"Many have tried, by none could make 'im move. None until you."

Ichigo looked back to woman. "Me?"

The woman nodded and slowly began to make her way into the alley. "He 'peared about a week ago. I heard a crash, came out an' found him curled up in a blanket. I tried to get 'im tah come inside. I live just across the road, you see? But he wouldn't so much as blink."

"A week..." Ichigo repeated softly.

The woman nodded. She reached out to touch the stranger's head, but he flinched away. "He hates it when anyone touches 'im. But he seems to like you."

Ichigo nodded and focused his vision back on the albino's face. He rolled further into Ichigo's arms, collecting a handful of Ichigo's shirt and pulling it towards his nose.

"Tell ya what. I'll give you some money an' some food if ya take 'im home with you."

Ichigo nodded and quickly found himself smiling. "That'd be great, thank you very much!"

The woman nodded and did a waddle-walk back towards her house. Ichigo followed and about ten minutes later found himself marching through the streets with a back pack filled with canned soup, a wallet filled with two hundred dollars and a blanket wrapped albino resting in his hands. He figured the extra weight should've killed him, but in an odd way the albino seemed to boost his strength.

Entering his house was slightly difficult. It was slightly, not because of opening the door, but because of fitting through the door. It was a narrow passageway, Ichigo knew it needed to be fixed but he simply didn't have the money.

Ichigo Kurosaki lived on the outskirts of Karakura town. It was a small village, one of the only remaining, in the warm valleys of Japan. He lived alone in a small house, but it was cozy and empty, just the way he liked it.

Ichigo entered his bedroom and placed the sleeping stranger onto the bed. He gently ran his hand across the albino's forehead before standing and turning to walk away. Ichigo was quickly proved incapable of doing much more because the stranger refused to let go of his hand.

"I've got work, so I'm gonna need that." Ichigo said, his voice just on the edge of a whisper.

The stranger refused to give up Ichigo's hand and the teenager sighed.

"Alright, have it your way!" Ichigo kicked off his socks then, with slight hesitation and much difficulty, removed his jeans and slipped in bed. He pulled the covers up over both his head and the albino's before shifting into a comfortable position.

Sleep came easy that night.


	2. Clean

**Hello everyone! *waves stupidly***

**In case you didn't already know, I'll be gone for a week starting on Saturday. I don't know what day I'll be coming back. I don't know. I don't know.**

**All I know is that, while I'm gone, I'll be typing outside my camper with lemonade resting on a table beside me and the sun shining down through the trees making strange patterns on the ground beneath me.**

**See? A true author's heart.**

**So I'll be back soon! Read, review, and have a great summer guys! See ya in a week! :D**

* * *

When Ichigo first opened his eyes the only thing he wanted to do was go back to sleep. Mentally thanking the universe that the day was Friday, that's exactly what he did. Ichigo turned over onto his other side and buried his face in his pillow... Odd, he didn't recall any of his pillows to be this comfortable.

And just like that, Ichigo was wide awake.

He jumped out of his bed and landed ass first on the floor. Starring up with horror he found the object of his thought-to-be-dream lying across the mattress. Ichigo ran his fingers through his hair and let out an exhausted sigh, even though he happened to be well rested. In fact, Ichigo couldn't remember the last night when he slept this well... and the only difference between now and then was the albino.

Anyways, the main point was that a stranger was sleeping in his bed and Ichigo was half naked on the floor beside him. He rolled over onto his hands and knees, then from there pushed himself back up onto his feet.

He lazily took jeans, a black and blue plaid shirt and the necessary under garments from his closet. Ichigo then jogged to his bathroom where he set the shower to the desired temperature, stripped and entered.

The water was just slightly hotter than warm, but felt heavenly against Ichigo's back. He used a large brush to scrub the dirt from his shoulders and down his spine, and then used a cloth to smooth over his arms, torso and legs.

Ichigo took a bottle of shampoo from his shelf and poured a large puddle onto his hand. He left the lid open as he placed the bottle back onto the shelf, spread the soap across each hand then brought the 'feminine' shampoo to his hair. Scrubbing roughly, Ichigo managed to turn the clear soap brown with the amount of dirt in his hair. Ichigo was a football player at the college he was stuck in, and he also worked in the storage unit of a store nearby. Dirt plus dust equals thick layer of crap in hair.

Ichigo rinsed his hair out and watched a big puddle of brown muck gather at his feet. When he could finally make out the orange color of his hair again, he turned off the shower and stepped out. Just as Ichigo managed to put on his pants, there was a loud bang at the bathroom door.

"It's too early in the morning for this..." Ichigo sighed. He opened the door.

The stranger came bolting in. Wrapping his arms around Ichigo's waist, he buried his face in his shoulder and proceeded to whimper.

"Hey!" Ichigo cried.

The stranger jumped and stumbled backwards. Mysterious eyes lit up with fear and stared with intense sorrow at the orangette.

"Sorry," Ichigo gasped, thought quietly this time. He held out his hand and smiled the best smile he possibly could. It was easy, no acting necessary. "I didn't mean to scare you. I won't hurt you."

Though the stranger still looked puzzled, Ichigo notice a smile tugging at his pale lips. After a lot of patience, Ichigo watched the stranger smile, his teeth unnaturally white just like the rest of his body.

"Do you have a name?"

The stranger paused, putting a finger to his lips in thought. Ichigo noticed the action to be rather cute, but dismissed those thoughts the instant they came. The stranger then opened his mouth. At first he resembled a fish, no noise escaping his throat. Then came a stutter, it was soft but Ichigo still heard it, "Sh... Sh-Shir-ro..."

"Shiro?" Ichigo repeated.

The stranger nodded with a smile.

"Shiro it is then," Ichigo confirmed. He gently patted the newly named, Shiro's head and found his hands in a pile of dirt. Ichigo gently took hold of Shiro's hand and examined the battered and bony flesh with delicacy. "You're filthy," Ichigo stated.

Shiro's eyebrows, as hard as they might've been to see, knitted together.

Ichigo chuckled and watched a small sparkle of enjoyment light up Shiro's eyes. He dusted it off, and then gave Shiro's arm a gentle pull.

Shiro didn't move. He just stared, confused.

"Well come on then," Ichigo encouraged. He pulled again and this time Shiro followed.

Ichigo shut the door and turned on the fan. He then put down the toilet seat and Shiro sat. From the seat Shiro observed Ichigo, every flex of his muscles, every lift of his arm or twist of his joints. He loved them, all the little things Ichigo did, and possibly even without knowing he did them.

Meanwhile, Ichigo was very focused on preparing the tub. He put in bubble bath, thinking it foolish, but simply couldn't resist the urge. He also prepared a towel and a face cloth, set the temperature to the one he liked then sat back and waited for the tub to fill.

Not too long after, Ichigo carefully helped Shiro into the tub and slowly introduced him to the temperature. After getting the albino to sit fully, the rest came easy.

Ichigo shut off the water, picked up a cloth and started washing Shiro like a child. Shiro seemed very cooperative, but in truth he just enjoyed feeling loved. It was a nice feeling, being welcomed and taken care of, though he hadn't gotten much of it before...

Before... That sentence spoke as if there was a before, but Shiro couldn't remember. All he could remember was the alley, the scary people who tried to touch him, the terrifying old lady... and then his angel: a man with a voice of strength and purity, a spirit that glowed through his human shell and a kind and loving heart.

Ichigo rubbed the shampoo across his hands then began to thread his fingers through Shiro's hair. The dirt came out easily and after a bit all that was left were Shiro's smooth strands. Ichigo became lost in a small trance. His scrubbing turned gentle and his fingers began a kneading motion. Shiro's eyes fluttered shut as he became lost in the amazing touch. He must have dozed off because next thing he knew Ichigo's hands had found his shoulders and were now rubbing away an annoying knot in one of Shiro's muscles.

"I-I-I..."

Ichigo blinked, the albino's stutter pulling him away from his trance.

"I... ch-chi..."

Ichigo blinked again, this time from understanding. He listened carefully, his hands still unconsciously resting on Shiro's shoulders.

"I-I... chi... g-go..."

"Are you...?" Ichigo couldn't believe his ears. "Are you... trying to say _my _name?"

Shiro nodded, swallowed the saliva that had gathered in his mouth then spoke with much more clarity, "I-Ichig-go..."

Ichigo's heart skipped a beat.

"Ichi... go."

Ichigo understood now. This was the albino's way of saying thanks. Thanks for caring, for being kind, for understanding... Thanks for not running away.

"Ichigo."

Ichigo froze. One of many reasons was because of Shiro's voice. It was close to his own, but softer and stronger. There was determination and success, and despite Shiro's still slightly dirtied appearance, his voice was rich and filled with beauty.

Ichigo had never noticed so much in a voice before. It terrified him, yet intrigued him.

He smiled and took the shower hose from where it hung. Ichigo carefully rinsed Shiro's hair, the albino too distracted by the soap bubbles to really care. Ichigo watched and his smile grew.

_He's like a kid... _Ichigo thought. _He's lonely, but strong. Brave and curious too._

Then another thought appeared within Ichigo's mind. One he never would have seen coming a week ago, but just felt so right to think now. _I'll protect you Shiro. I'll give you what you need, and I won't let anyone ruin your spirit._


End file.
